San Francisco Giants (and NY Giants) All-Time Strikeout Leaders

Christy Mathewson

Juan Marichal

Amos Rusie

The San Francisco Giants were the New York Giants for many seasons, and while the SF Giants have never won the World Series, the NY version did, five times. The franchise is an old one, starting as the NY Gothams in 1883, renamed the Giants in 1885, and moving to the Bay Area eventually in 1958. The team has fielded great offensive players, but some really good pitchers as well. Here is a list of the Giants’ all-time strikeout leaders:

Christy Mathewson (2499)—Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson pitched for the New York Giants most of his career, from 1901 to 1916. Mathewson struck out 2499 batters in a Giants’ uniform, ranking him first all-time with the franchise. He had a career high 267 K’s in 1903, but his best overall season was arguably 1908, when Mathewson went 37-11 with a 1.43 ERA and 259 strikeouts.

Juan Marichal (2281)—Juan Marichal was one of the game’s best pitchers during his tenure, mostly with the Giants from 1960 to 1973. Marichal ranks second in team history with 2281 strikeouts, and his best overall season was 1963, when he went 25-8 with a 2.41 earned run average and career high 248 strikeouts.

Amos Rusie (1819)—Amos Rusie had a brief, but very awesome career, averaging 27 wins during his nine full seasons. He played for the Giants from 1890 to 1898 and ranks third in their history with 1819 strikeouts. Rusie had a career high 341 strikeouts in 1890, despite a 29-34 record. His best overall season was 1894, when he went 36-13 with a 2.78 ERA and 195 K’s, despite also walking 200 batters that same year.

Carl Hubbell (1677)—Carl Hubbell pitched for the New York Giants his entire career, from 1928 to 1943, and ranks fourth in the team’s history with 1677 strikeouts. Hubbell struck out a career high 159 batters in 1937, but his best overall season was maybe 1933, when he went 23-12 with a career low 1.66 earned run average and 156 K’s.

Gaylord Perry (1606)—Journeyman Gaylord Perry pitched for the Giants the longest of the eight teams he played for, from 1962 to 1971. Perry won Cy Young Awards with Cleveland and with San Diego, but he had a great run with the Giants, and ranks fifth in franchise history with 1606 strikeouts. Perry’s best season in San Francisco was arguably 1969, when he went 19-14 with a 2.49 ERA and 233 strikeouts.

Mickey Welch (1570)—Mickey Welch played for the New York Giants from 1883 to 1892, and ranks sixth in team history with 1570 strikeouts. Welch struck out 345 hitters in 1884, but maybe his best overall season was 1885, when he had an astounding 44-11 record and 1.66 ERA (both career best numbers) with 258 K’s.

Tim Keefe (1302)—Tim Keefe pitched for the Giants from 1885 to 1891, and over that relatively short time racked up 1302 strikeouts, which ranks him seventh all-time for the Giants. Keefe had his best season with the Giants in 1888, when he went 35-12 with a 1.74 earned run average and 335 strikeouts.

Red Ames (1169)—Red Ames pitched for New York from 1903 to 1913 and ranks eighth in franchise history with 1169 strikeouts. Ames had his best overall season in 1905, when he had career highs in wins (22-8) and strikeouts (198), with a 2.74 ERA.

Jason Schmidt (1065)—Jason Schmidt pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 2001 to 2006, and ranks ninth in the team’s history with 1065 strikeouts. Schmidt had some of his best years as a Giant, especially in 2004, when he had career highs in wins (18-7) and strikeouts (251), with a 3.20 earned run average.

Mike McCormick (1030)—Mike McCormick pitched for the Giants in both New York and San Francisco, from 1956 to 1962, and again from 1967 to 1970. McCormick ranks tenth in Giants’ history with 1030 strikeouts, and he had a career high 163 of them in 1961. But McCormick’s best season was probably 1967, when he had a career high 22 wins (22-10 record) with a 2.85 ERA and 150 K’s.

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